Your Computer Vol.1 No.4
This issue is dated November 1981 and priced at 50p Regulars Contents/Editorial - 1 page (3) Your Letters - 1 page (11) Computer Club - Oxford Computer Workshop - 1 page (17) :David Pollard found that a surfeit of academics does not necessarily help in bringing computers to those who can use them. He describes the workshop's progress to date. Fingertips - David Pringle - 2 pages (61-62) Response Frame - Tim Hartnell & Trevor Sharples - 1 page (65) Competition Corner - ½ page (79) News News Headlines - 2 pages (12-13) *ZX user port defies sceptics (12) *Printer for the Sinclairs (12) *Company with Sharp bias (12) *Speech synthesis to have a wider audience (12) *Cancer tragedy of micro fan - Bug-Byte to donate 50% of all proceeds from sales of Backgammon to Leukaemia Research. (13) *Of peripheral interest: Quicksilva to release QS Defender and QS Life for the ZX-81 (13) *WH Smith advances into computer world (13) *A handful of power (Casio FX-702P) (13) *Nascom Basic is extended (13) Features Review: TI~99/4 - 2 pages (18-19) : Now that its price has been cut from around £1,000 to £295, the two-year old colour computer from Texas Instruments looks set to compete with the likes of Tandy's colour machine and the Vic-20. Tim Hartnell assess the re-launched machine. Interview: Paul Johnstone of Tangerine - 2 pages (24-25) : A little to the north of the growing Cambridge grouping of high-technology companies, such as Sinclair Research and Acorn, another successful microcomputer firm has emerged: Ely-based Tangerine has gained a formidable reputation with its Microtan-65, and its £170 Tantel has already captured more than 70 percent of the Prestel-adaptor market. Duncan Scot talks to electronics expert Paul Johnstone, one of the company's founders. A Little Micro Music - 3 pages (26-27,29) : Whatever machine you own. Bill Bennett explains how you can coax it into producing melodious sound. He examines noteworthy machines at the top and bottom of the music-making scale, and offers some practical programming advice on how to compose musical routines. Art: Craft Designs on a Computer - 2 pages (30-31) : If you mention computer art to the average hobbyist, you will probably meet with blank incomprehension. Yet for a growing number of users, computers are a valid creative medium, Christopher Histed examines the fundamentals of this infant art form. W H Smith brings ZX-81s to the High Street '''- Tim Hartnell - 1 page (37) '''Joystick control for the VIC-20 - Nick Hampshire - 1 page (39) Languages: Comal's Challenge to BBC Basic - 3 pages (40-42) :BBC English is widely received as the language's standard. In the world of computer languages, however, BBC Basic does command the same position — many argued for the adoption of the structured language Comal and against the creation of just another Basic dialect. Clare Gooding reports. ZX Books '''- 2 pages (49-50) :The success of Sinclair's ZX-80 and ZX-81 has led to the publication of an astonishing number of books. Martyn Thomas helps you pick your way through the ZX library with his comparison of 15 of the main titles. '''Project: An interpreter for the 6502 CPU - 3 pages (52-54) :Beginning with an explanation of the principles used to translate high-level languages into machine code, John Dawson continues his series by outlining the structure of a control-orientated interpreter. ZX-81 Machine Code - 2 pages (57-58) :Programs in machine code run faster than equivalent Basic programs and need less storage space, Brendan Clancy explains how you can store machine code from your ZX-81 and describes an entertaining game. Reviews Survey: Atom Cassettes - 3 pages (20-22) : Eric Deeson casts a critical eye at the standard of packages in the burgeoning Atom software market. *Games Pack 5, Games Pack 6, Atom Business, Atom Databse, Utility Pack I, Peeko-Computer, Maths Pack I (Acornsoft) *Atom Breakout, Fruit Machine, Golf, Atom Invaders, Lunar Lander, Pinball, Star Trek, Disassembler (Bug-Byte) *Astrobirds, Invader Force, Music Box, Histats (Program Power) *Hammurabi/Othello/Scramble/Hexpawn, Pinball/Letters/Spacewar/Drive, Breakout/Cupball/3D Maze/Simon 2 (Timedata) *Atom Business (Phipps Associates) Type-Ins Storm the castle: play the game of Siege by Bob Merry for the PET - 3 pages (32-34) Software File - 8 pages (67-69,71-72,74-76) Adverts Games *'Sinclair Research' - Sinclair ZX81 Cassette No 1 & Sinclair ZX81 Cassette No 4 - page 15 *'Hewson Consultants' - Space Intruders, Mini Space Intruders - page 28 *'Computer Concepts' - Invaders - page 28 *'Quicksilva' - QS Defender - page 35 *'Team 4' - Trek '81, Battlechess, Invaders / Hedgehog, Lunar Lander / 3D Maze / Dominoes - page 35 *'Video Software' - Force Field, Space Race, Football-League, Test Match, Stock Market - page 38 *'Bug-Byte' - Labyrinth, Backgammon, Last Run, Rhino/Wiggle, Atom Invaders, Pinball, Star Trek, Atom Breakout, Fruit Machine, UFO Bomber, Lunar Lander, Golf, Program Pack 1, Program Pack 2, Program Pack 3, Program Pack 4, Breakout - page 51 *'Essential Software Company' - Cosmic Fighter, Attack Force, Galaxy Invasion, Asteroid Nova, Labyrinth, Deathmaze 5000 - page 55 *'Michael Orwin Software' - Cassette One - page 56 *'Phipps Associates' - The ZX81 Pocket Book - page 63 *'A&F Software' - Early Warning, Polecat - page 64 *'Control Technology' - Pack 16/1, Pack 16/2, Tape Book 50 - page 66 *'JRS Software' - Slalom, Black Holes - page 80 *'Program Power' - Lunar Lander, Invader Force, 3D Asteroids, Alien Maze, Space Storm, Star Trek, Othello, Demon Dungeon, Dambusters, Zombies / Demovaders / Laser Fight, Labyrinth / Slot Racer, Minefield / Snake / Awari, Territory / Aztec - page 80 *'Tangerine Users Group' - Asteroids, Shuttle Lander, Dive Bomber, Space Invasion, Space Fighter, Scrabble, Demolition, Nim, Pack 1, Pack 4 - page 81 * Silversoft - Star Trek, Games Pack 1 - page 85 * Macronics - 1k Space Invaders, 3k Space Invaders, Nightmare Park, Dragon Maze, Planetoids, Lap Record - page 87 * Hilderbay Ltd - Gold / Pick a Word - page 87 * Timedata - Brkout / Ack-Ack, Shell Game / Invaders, Breakout / Cupball / 3D Maze / Simon 2, Pinball / Letters / Spacewar / Drive - page 88 Magazines *Practical Computing - page 86 Analysis Other Credits Staff Writer :Bill Bennett Production Editor :Toby Wolpe Production Assistant :John Liebmann Editorial Secretary :Lynn Cowling Contributors :Tim Hartnell, Eric Deeson, Nick Hampshire, John Dawson, Christopher Histed, Clare Gooding, Brendan Clancy, David Pringle, Martyn Thomas, David Pollard Publishing Director :Chris Hipwell Issue Index Category:Contains Atom Reviews Category:Your Computer Issues Category:IPC Business Press Magazines Category:Magazines released in 1981 Category:Magazines cover-dated 1981